Interview: Rodrigo Prieto on working with great auteurs and "The Irishman"

Rodrigo Prieto has long been one of the most versatile cinematographers in the world. He first came to international fame with the gritty Oscar nominated Mexican drama Amores Perros (2000) though filmmakers in Hollywood, we learned in our interview, had noticed his skill even earlier than that. Since then he's worked all over the world and in an impressive array of genres and styles.

We gave you a teaser of our long sit down with this great visual stylist a couple of months ago (we had to grill him about Brokeback Mountain first) but we were meeting to discuss The Irishman. Martin Scorsese's latest Best Picture nominee had yet to open when we spoke but it was a critical darling immediately and Prieto secured his third Oscar nomination for his contributions to the mournful epic. We spoke to him about his visual choices, what he loves about his job, and working with auteurs like Martin Scorsese and Ang Lee. How do they differ on set and which of Prieto's films had they seen to convince them to begin their long collaborations?

[This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity]

NATHANIEL: Your first several movies were in Mexico. It was Amores Perros (2000), wasn’t it, when Hollywood came calling? Could you feel your career exploding? 

RODRIGO PRIETO: It was actually a little bit before. My fourth movie All of Them Witches got international recognition. That's what got me my agents. I did another movie called  Un embrujo (1998)  that Carlos Carrera directed that got an award in San Sebastian  for cinematography. It put me on the “10 to watch list” in Variety. That's the one that made me think, you know, people might have started hearing my name a little bit...

Click to read more ...

That time when one of the great cinematographers hooked up with Jake Gyllenhaal...

by Nathaniel R

Here's a little teaser for a forthcoming interview with Rodrigo Prieto, the two-time Oscar nominated DP whose latest film is Martin Scorsese's The Irishman. The famed Mexican cinematographer turns 54 next month. We'd always seem him in photos, handsome, crouched down behind cameras with tightly cropped hair. In person he's a tall silver fox and he's let his hair grow out. He could have been in front of cameras but instead got behind them from an early age. And what a career he's had. Standing majestically amongst his classics is Brokeback Mountain (2005) so during a lengthy sit down we had at the Middleburg Film Festival this past weekend, we asked him how he ended up with his only onscreen role.

We don't know if you knew this but he plays the Mexican hustler who Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) picks up during a quick trip south of the border. That's the trip that Ennis and Jack fight about, later in the movie, lighting a bonfire of scorched feeling in that famous 'I wish I knew how to quit you' scene...

Click to read more ...

Yes No Maybe So: Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman" and NYFF Trivia

by Nathaniel R

As you've undoubtedly heard, The Irishman will be finished in time for a 2019 rollout after all. (We had previously assumed it might not be ready due to the time-consuming visual effects to de-age DeNiro and Pacino for some sequences). The Martin Scorsese mob epic will have its world premiere as the opening night selection* of the New York Film Festival on September 27th. After that premiere it hits some theaters and Netflix streaming though we don't have dates for either one quite yet. It'd be nice if they didn't save it until Christmas for an actual release but awards contenders gonna awards contend, y'know. That said it does say "this fall" at the end so perhaps they'll be merciful to audiences and release it in October?

The drama is based on Charles Brandt's non-fiction book "I Heard You Paint Houses," a line that's included in the trailer and would have made a much less generic title! But generic film titles gonna generic film title, y' know. After the jump, the trailer and a brief Yes No Maybe So breakdown...

Click to read more ...

every guy here'd love to link you, Gaston

Today's Must Read
BuzzFeed good piece by Allison Willmore on the maddening response to absolutely nothing moments proclaimed to be LGBT "firsts!" in movies. Two parts of the problems she doesn't mention though are 1) the internet demands for constant content incentivize journalists to blow everything out of proportion including super stupid things like "LeFou is gay!" and 2) too many pop culture journalists are operating from a place of zero knowledge about pop culture before they were, like, 12. 

more links after the jump including insightful pieces on Feud and an investigation of Logan's family jewels...

Click to read more ...

Q&A: Overhyped Loveables, Depression Coping Tactics, and Best Foreign Film

Happy Hump Day Almost! Why do some weeks feel so much like surviving itself is the only goal / triumph? I have let the Q&A column go but we're getting back on the horse and will try to do them more regularly. Here are seven questions from last week and two from a long time ago.

Ready? Let's go! Questions about awards seasons calendar, Brie Larson, director/cinematographer teams, and coping with depression after the jump...

Click to read more ...